BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT analysed January deadline application data (released 15 February) from university admissions service, UCAS.
While male applicants still outnumber females in computer science by 4.1 to 1 this year, the gap has closed slightly from 4.4 to 1 at the same stage in the application cycle in 2023, BCS found.
Applications to study computing from all UK young people (aged 18) rose by 7% (to a total of 99,710). This mirrored strong growth in STEM subjects, with maths 11% up, Engineering 10% up, and physical sciences 8% up).
Computing degrees at UK universities continue to be attractive to students outside the UK. Over one-fifth of applications (21%) came from non-UK students, a slight decrease from 2023/24 (23%).
Computing is now the 7th most popular subject for UK 18-year-old applicants (and 5th for all UK applicants). This is the sixth consecutive year of growth for Computing applications from 18-year-olds with this year’s figure being 70% higher than in 2019 (and 113% higher for women).
BCS said the rise in women applying for computing was good news for the future safety and fairness of AI.
Computing degree can help change the world
Gillian Arnold, President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: “More and more young women understand that taking a computing degree can help them change the world and that is shown by these UCAS application figures.
Wanda Parisien is a computing expert who navigates the vast landscape of hardware and software. With a focus on computer technology, software development, and industry trends, Wanda delivers informative content, tutorials, and analyses to keep readers updated on the latest in the world of computing.
